Has Active Travel England Given Up on Cycling?

Has Active Travel England given up on cycling?

Bids for money from Active Travel Fund 4 (ATF4) have to be in by 24th February 2023. ATF4 is for infrastructure that enables walking, wheeling and cycling – but with a particular emphasis on walking and wheeling.

We Already Have Dedicated Walking Facilities

When I walk into town, I can use dedicated paths away from traffic.

I won’t fear for my physical safety. Fundamentally, it’s already safe.

Yes there are improvements that could be made. For example, the lights at crossings could change to green a lot quicker. That doesn’t need infrastructure funding – it just needs the local authority to stop prioritising people in cars over people on foot.

There are plenty of places where new crossings would be welcome, and funding for those would be well-spent.

Overall, though, no one decides not to walk into town because it’s too dangerous.

We Lack Dedicated Cycling Facilities

When I cycle into town, I have to share hostile roads with motor vehicles.

I will have an unpleasant or unsafe experience every time. Fundamentally, it’s not safe.

We need a cycle network made up of quiet streets, modal filters, and physically-protected cycle tracks. We’re starting from a very low base of almost no quality infrastructure.

Until a cycle network is provided, most people won’t ride bikes around town. We’ll be stuck at a modal share of 2%, when it could be 30%.

Why Is Active Travel England Moving Away from Cycling?

I don’t know the reason why Active Travel England is prioritising walking and wheeling over cycling, but I have a couple of guesses.

One reason might be that they are data-driven, and focused on a 2030 target of 50% of urban trips to be made by active travel.

Probably it’s easier to enable walking trips, since the infrastructure is largely there already, than it is to enable cycling trips, since the infrastructure is largely lacking.

Another reason might be that they want to change their image. Perhaps they feel they are seen too much as a cycling organisation, and by focusing their funding on walking and wheeling instead they aim to change the way they are perceived.

Some Hope Left

Active Travel England is still a new organisation.

After decades of British failure on cycle infrastructure, a lot of us have invested a great deal of hope in them perhaps being able to make cycling safe.

They are the funding body, but they rely on local authorities to do the construction work, and local authorities don’t know what they are doing. This means Active Travel England has a difficult job.

The emphasis on walking and wheeling is a bit of a blow, but it’s too early to despair. There is some hope left.